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Posted by Mieko McKay, President and Creator of Nomadic World Apparel Inc.
on
10th Oct 2016

I spend 40%
of my life engaged in professional or personal travel. For example, I spent last week in Laos and I
will travel to Haiti tomorrow for 10 days followed by a long weekend in Atlanta
by months end. I can unequivocally say, travel is my one true love and I’ve
dedicated much of my time to perfecting the art of it. Today, I’d like to share
with you a few of my tips to traveling flawlessly. Well executed travel can be
broken down into perfecting four phases:
the planning, the preparation, the journey and the recovery.

Every great
journey starts with planning the right booking with the right airline. If you
want the royal treatment on a working woman’s budget it’s important to have a
preferred airline that you consistently use. Fidelity counts in the airline
business and a frequent flier will quickly rack up on miles that will entitle
you to upgrades, lounges with free food, Wi-Fi, showers and booze even
preferential treatment. In 2011, I made Diamond status with Delta airlines. I
was sitting in coach on my way to Rwanda, when a flight attendant came to me
and said, Ms. McKay On behalf of Delta airline I thank you for Flying with us,
have a wonderful flight. The guy beside stared
at me, astonished! I shrugged “I’m kind
of a big deal.”

In the old
days, the traveling part of travel was fun, even glamourous but times have
changed and navigating the airport can be a serious pain in the assumption
unless you plan ahead. Do yourself a favor, get a known traveler status which
includes TSA pre-check and global entry. For $100 dollars you get to breeze
past the long security lines and US customs and keep your shoes on—for five
years! It’s fabulous! Once you’ve
established “status” with your preferred airline as a known traveler, the next big
decision is planning your booking. If you have the miles or can afford the cost
outright, nothing beats a first or business class ticket, but if you are low on
cash you can still fly in reasonable comfort and class by purchasing an economy
comfort seat. These seats are located just behind business class, give you more
leg room, a slightly plusher seat than coach and provide outlets for charging
laptops and mobile devices. With the right airline status and an economy
comfort booking, you’ve already upgraded your travel experience on a very
economical budget.

A really
great journey continues with the right wardrobe and the perfect carry on. To pack
a like a pro:

Roll everything and put it in large zip lock
bags or packing cubes. This way of packing saves an incredible amount of space,
keeps everything organized and can double as laundry bags.

Minimize the
amount of clothes you take by sticking to the same color palette. It ensures
that any two things you pull out of your suitcase will match. I recently packed
an “all –white” suitcase on a trip to Greece. The most effortless wardrobe ever
and my photos looked incredible against all that magical blue water.

One color
palette also means you can reduce the pairs of shoes. I prefer to pack neutral
and comfortable shoes like this pair of sandals because once my feet hurt I’m
ready to go home.

Unlike Beyoncé,
I do not wake up like this, so I actually have a travel spa kit guaranteed to
keep you skin glowing and flawless: includes face mask kit; tweezers and hair removal
strips, , Zit cream—b/c I invariably battle a breakout every trip. As well as Eye
cream and concealer. Throw in a shiny lip balm for everyday and a little
lipstick for a pop of color in the evenings. Et voila—a perfect travel
wardrobe!

Now, a good
known traveler always has the perfect carryon in size and content. My inflight
must haves include:

-
Prescription Grade Compression socks. These are a critical inflight beauty
accessory. In June I flew to Mozambique for a workplaning session—a 14 hour
direct flight, I forgot my compression socks. I came off the plane with Stay
Puff Marshmallow Man legs. I literally looked like I was baking bread in my
shoes. And by the way, I recently
learned from a doctor friend that to get the best compression, one should be
properly fitted for compression socks by a podiatrist.

- Second
must have my ear, nose and eyes moisture
kit: Dehydration is as sure as kankles on a long flight so make sure you pack
your rehydration kit: essential oil nose inhaler, spray evian not only
moisturizers the skin but gives you a nice glow right before coming off the
plane, lotion, lip balm and eye drops

- Bring your
own food so you don’t have to buy over-priced, high calorie airport food;
include foods high in Fiber b/c long flights slow your digestive system way
down.

-
Pashmina/sweater—I don’t know those blankets on the plane and I don’t cover my
body with them. Bring your own!

- Comfortable
pants—b/c my stomach needs mercy on a long flight. I put these in my carry on
and change as soon as I get on and off the plane.

- An extra
pair of cotton underwear without elastic waistbands. Just in case your luggage
gets lost. And include an extra shirt, deodorant and toothbrush/toothpaste for
the same reason

In addition
to the perfect carryon, I offer some helpful inflight behavior tips:

-Eat light
on the plane you will sleep better and reduce that bloated look and feeling

Avoid
alcohol, but if you must limit to 1 beverage per six hours

Drink 1-2
cups of water every hour, walk around every 2 hours and do the inflight
stretches periodically while you are seated.

Now you have
arrived and you want to reduce recovery time so it’s important to create a
welcoming environment in your hotel room. Especially for business travel, you
don’t always get to pick your hotel. I’ve stayed in everything from 5-star
hotels in Abu Dhabi to converted UN shipping containers in South Sudan. I
always bring my own sheets including a pillow case, towels and shower flip
flops.

I also use a
eucalyptus linen spray on the bed and nice body shop air freshner to make the room
feel more familiar.

Unpack your
bag; set up your toiletries in the bathroom, hang your clothes. Your room is
now a sanctuary for your recovery. Start off by taking a 30-45 minute nap. When you wake up go for a long walk outside if
possible it helps the brain to familiarize with the surroundings and your
circulation by taking in oxygen.

Come back
take a shower and exfoliate with a loofah or a body scrub to help also with
blood circulation. Moisturize! Eat a light dinner and hopefully all that fiber
you ate on the plane kicks in before you head to bed as close to your normal
bed time as a possible.

And there
you have it: thanks to proper planning and preparation, you’re now well on the
road to quickly recovering from jetlag and enjoying a fabulous trip.